https://www.inc.com/leila-sheridan/ben-affleck-just-sold-his-stealth-ai-startup-to-netflix-for-600-million-heres-what-it-actually-does/91315812

You have to hand it to Ben Affleck, the man has to be one of the biggest power brokers in Hollywood now so I will no longer refer to him as Butt Chin. I knew he was some kind of special advisor to Netflix but didn't know he had founded an AI company designed to assist in film post production. He started it 4 years ago with 16 employees and Netflix paid them up to $600 million if performance metrics are met.

It's a pretty cool concept, train the AI model with proprietary content shot in a studio rather than from open Internet sources. Not really designed to create new content but to remove things like wire harnesses from a scene, fix lighting, assist in editing, etc.

I think Affleck is a terrific director. He is a great story teller and the pacing in his movies is always perfect IMO.

It's amazing, or maybe not, that there are a number of Hollywood types who have generated more wealth via their investments in startups than in what they get paid for their trade. Not surprised to see this about Alleck. George Lucas was a pioneer in this area.

Ashton Kutcher's portfolio is literally gold standard. Uber and ABNB being at the top. My brother retired pretty young but got "persuaded" to come back and help with a global logistics startup that Kutcher invested heavily in early. Has met him several times at board and investor meetings and says he is funny and friendly but all business.

Ryan Reynolds is worth like $400M now, with stakes in everything from gin, to Mint Mobile, to a sports team. Wild.

Many of these celebrities get opportunities to invest because they are so well connected & people want to be associated with them. They also get fleeced from time to time as well.